Avian Flu – Coming to a Hen House Near You?

By Kathy Voth / May 4, 2015 / Comments Off on Avian Flu – Coming to a Hen House Near You?

While it’s not a human health concern, the current avian flu is hitting some areas hard. Here’s what’s happening, and what you can do to help your fellow farmers and ranchers to prevent the spread of this disease.

By this time, you’re no doubt aware that a “highly pathogenic” avian flu is spreading across North America. “Highly Pathogenic” avian influence means that it spreads rapidly and death rates in birds are high. While this is of extreme concern to those raising poultry for meat and eggs, the good news is that this strain, HPAI H5N2 is not a threat to human health.

This map comes to us from a website called “Avian Flu Diary.” It was current as of April 21, 2015.

In North America, the current strain of avian flu has turned up in flocks in Canada and many places in the United States. It has hit over 100 large scale farms to date, resulting in the deaths of 15.4 million turkeys and laying hens. Iowa has lost about a quarter of its 60 million birds to flu outbreaks, including one farm with 5.5 million layer hens and several turkey farms. That sounds like a lot, and it’s an enormous impact on the folks raising the birds. But to give you some perspective, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said the outbreaks in Iowa translate to 5 to 6% of the total number of laying chickens in the United States.

While it’s not completely clear how this current flu is being spread, wild birds and migratory waterfowl are considered potential sources. Once the flu has arrived in an area, it spreads quickly and easily. It can travel on manure, egg flats, crates, farming materials and equipment, and with people who have unknowingly picked up the virus on their clothes, shoes or hands. When poultry come in contact with contaminated surfaces or materials, they contract the disease and continue its spread. The virus doesn’t do well in the heat, so with summer coming on, the danger should decrease. But USDA officials believe the virus will survive the summer, and we’ll see a rise in outbreaks in the fall.

Given the potential impact on poultry and food production, we all need to know what sick birds look like, do what we can to prevent our birds from getting sick, and then if they do get sick we need to report it immediately so that steps can be taken to prevent further spread. To help you help your fellow farmers and ranchers, here are symptoms, prevention methods, and who to call for help.

Pictures courtesy of the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Protecting Your Flock

Biosecurity steps are actually pretty straight forward, and they are things you should do all the time, whether or not there’s known threat heading your way. Here’s what the experts recommend:

1. Keep Your Distance.
Restrict access to your property and your birds. If visitors have birds of their own, do not let them near your birds. You should also do your best to keep your birds from having contact with wild birds and migratory water fowl that can carry germs and diseases.

2. Keep it Clean.
Wash your hands before and after working with your birds. It’s also recommend that you wear clean clothes, scrubbing your shoes with disinfectant, and cleaning and disinfecting equipment that comes in contact with your birds. Clean clothes and disinfected shoes and equipment is something that we all probably balk at.

3. Don’t haul disease home.
Buy birds from reputable sources. Then keep new birds separate from your flock for 30 days. If you take your birds to the fair on an exhibition, keep them away from your flock for 2 weeks after the event.

4. Don’t borrow disease from your neighbors.
Don’t share garden equipment or poultry supplies with your neighbors or other bird owners. If you have to borrow things, clean and disinfect them before they reach your property.

5. Know the signs and report sick birds.
Don’t wait! If your birds are sick or dying, call your local cooperative extension office, your veterinarian, or your State Vet or animal/poultry diagnostic laboratory. You can also call the USDA at 1-866-536-7593 and they can put you in touch with a local contact who can help you.

National Response Plans

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world. Federal and State partners and the poultry industry respond quickly to evidence of the disease focusing on:

1) Quarantines – restricting movement of poultry and poultry-moving equipment into and out of the control area;

2) Eradication – affect flocks are humanely euthanized to prevent the spread to other areas;

3) Disinfecting – kills the virus in the affected flock locations;

4) Testing – confirming that the poultry farm is AI virus-free. and

5) Monitoring – wild and domestic birds are tested in a broad area around the quarantine area. USDA also is working with its partners to actively look for and test for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

About the author

Kathy worked with the Bureau of Land Management for 12 years before founding Livestock for Landscapes in 2004. Her twelve years at the agency allowed her to pursue her goal of helping communities find ways to live profitably AND sustainably in their environment. She has been researching and working with livestock as a land management tool for over a decade. When she's not helping farmers, ranchers and land managers on-site, she writes articles, and books, and edits videos to help others turn their livestock into landscape managers.